See the big picture with Sea Pines referendum

I read your article regarding the Sea Pines referendum to allow the Sea Pines Resort to expand the Harbour Town Inn. My wife and I bought our first property in Sea Pines in 1990 and we have been full-time residents for a number of years. We have seen considerable change in our community during that time. Our community has been blessed by the vision and substantial investments of the Fraser and Goodwin families. Many residents have expressed resistance to change and I would ask that they step back and look at the bigger picture.

We remember our neighbors putting up their personal funds to save the company from bankruptcy. We remember how they established the Sea Pines Country Club as part of the restructuring — the club and membership that we love. We remember the bad old days when the Cuyahoga Wrecking Co. came to town. We remember when the toll road and extra bridge were fought every step of the way by those opposed to change. When we first came to Sea Pines, some of the houses were drab and dated. The personal investments by individual homeowners, combined with those of the resort, have significantly improved the ambiance of our community.

Rather than criticizing and denigrating the motivations of the Sea Pines Resort, I would suggest that, through joint efforts of our residents and the Goodwin family, we continue to nurture this special bit of paradise. Less rhetoric and more understanding would be helpful in finding common ground.

This story was originally published August 11, 2017 at 1:24 PM with the headline "See the big picture with Sea Pines referendum."